Loss of community stalwart mourned

This media release was issued by the TGLRG on 24.3.08

Many Tasmanians are today mourning the loss of a woman described by gay activist, Rodney Croome, as a brave defender of human rights.

Dr Yvette Sneddon, 49, of Natone on the state's North West Coast, died on Good Friday in a hit-and-run accident near Burnie.

"Yvette was a convenor of the North West Gay Support group in the late 1980s and early 1990s - the worst place and time in the Tasmanian gay law reform debate, when anti-gay rallies and letter-writing campaigns saw local gays and lesbians besieged by prejudice, ignorance and hatred", Mr Croome said.

"Yvette rose to the challenge, becoming a tower of strength, a tireless organiser and an eloquent advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their families."

"It was because of the bravery of people like Yvette that Tasmania is a better place today."

After a long and wide-ranging nursing career, Dr Sneddon was appointed as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania's School of Nursing and Midwifery in Burnie and had a successful private practice in counselling, mediation and training.

She will also be remembered for her ground-breaking research into the health and wellbeing of lesbian women and their families.

Mr Croome said family, friends, community and her beloved farm, were what gave Dr Sneddon her strength.

"Yvette always had faith that what connects us to each other and to the land will win out over what divides us, and her life is proof that this is true."

For more on the hit-and-run accident in which Ms Sneddon was killed click here.

For more information contact Rodney Croome on 0409 010 668.